Aguri Kusugami
Aguri Kusugami is a Makai Knight that wields the Makai Armor Gai; his title is Gai the Sky Bow Knight. He is one of the protagonists featured in The One Who Shines in the Darkness (First season of Ryūga-verse series and Season 3 of overall Garo series). Personality & Character Aguri comes from the famous Kusugami Clan, a well-known bloodline of Makai Archers. Although trained as a knight, he's an intellectual and prefers to resolve matters with his mind over brute force; he regards other knights in a less respectful manner as he presumes they're unable to grasp the depths of his intellectual intentions. Skills & Abilities * Makai Knight Training: Aguri is a trained Makai Knight, however, he's trained in bow and arrow tactics (Kusugami Clan martial arts) versus traditional blades. Beyond his archery skills, he's an intellectual, a problem-solver, and has some knowledge over Makai astrology. Tools & Equipment *'Gai Bow & Arrow': Unique amongst Makai Knights, Aguri wields a dual-bladed bow; he can engage a target in melee combat when he can't utilize his arrows. Because Aguri can't carry a container for his arrows on missions (limiting his mobility and makes him visible to the public), he hides a small number of arrows under his duster coat. The arrows themselves are of modern design, fashioned with jagged metal blades on the arrowhead. His arrows can pierce through weak walls and most windows for long-range attacks. By the time of Fang of God, Aguri's Gai Bow has been revamped into a smaller recurve bow with bladed limbs purely made of malleable Soul Metal that can reconfigure into a bo staff form for close quarters combat as well as thrown like a large boomerang. The bow's active form also gains major change as well, as it now greatly resembles blades since its current wielder Aguri uses Soul Metal-tipped arrow more often. **[[Gai|'Gai Armor']]: As a Makai Knight, Aguri is given the title of Gai the Sky Bow Knight. With this, he can don the silvery-blue Gai Makai Armor. He does this by holding his bladed bow in front of him and twirling it twice, forming two circles at his side. The circles open the portals where the armor equips on him, completing the transformation. A notable trait is that Aguri often removes his glasses when he dons the armor. Like other armors in Ryūga-verse series, Gai armor is made of Zedom seed-based Soul Metal. **'Soul Metal Arrow': Prior to the final battle against Zedom, Burai gave Aguri some Soul Metal Arrows specifically designed to harm Zedom should he return. By the time of Fang of God, Aguri how has dozens, if not more Soul Metal Arrowheads on him that when placed on his bow extend to there proper size. *'Glasses': Aguri requires glasses to correct his vision for accurate firing. However, the glasses are magically enhanced. The left side of the glasses, when tapped, reveals a secondary function that overlaps the lens like shades to detect certain discrepancies beyond regular human vision; its full capabilities and functions were never clearly defined. History Aguri Kusugami is latest in his line to inherit the title of Gai the Sky Bow Knight, who secretly worries that he cannot live up to his family's prestige. His family is known for skills in archery and as noted by Ryuga, being able to shoot arrows rapidly is one of the basics of the Kusugami Style Archery Techniques. Although his combat skills lie predominantly in archery, like any other Knights, he is capable of fighting in close quarters. As such, he wields a large bladed bow which also serves as a close quarter weapon. He does not see much in Ryuga and initially adopts a rather antagonistic attitude towards the newcomer. Cool-headed and standoffish, Aguri favors careful and meticulous planning over rushing into battles like the knights are usually known for, and he does not mind using unwilling people as bait if it means getting the job done. As such, despite being the brains of the group, he does not mingle well with the other two knights and often comes into clashes with them. After Takeru mellows down due to affection for Rui and Ryuga showing kindness over time, he gradually warms up to both of them. Despite seemingly stoic-looking, he is not devoid of compassion, shown during a mission in the Kaneshiro Foods Factory (which has a plant for packaging human souls into capsules) where he opts to trigger the emergency alarm to have the human staff evacuated, despite the possibility of jeopardizing the mission due to SG1 arriving in minutes, after being shown the lives devastated in the harvesting of human souls. While he is shown earlier to be unable to shoot arrows capable of piercing through Madō Horrors, he eventually becomes skilled enough through rigorous training to be able to accomplish the feat. After the disastrous mission and hearing of Ryuga's prison break, he correctly predicts that Ryuga would head straight for the Garoken despite unfavorable odds. He promptly sets out to Ryuga's aid despite the group being in no shape to fight after their last ordeal. His bow is broken by Sonshi in the fight to help Ryuga get his sword back. The bow is repaired soon after but is now capable of being separated in the middle and used as a nunchaku as well as a pair of swords. Aguri also receives a special arrowhead from Burai that enables him to further weaken Zedom during the final battle. Once Vol City is saved, Aguri parts ways with his friends to join the Senate. However, wanting to hone his skills further before going, Aguri takes over Rian's duty as Vol City's protector so she can travel with Ryuga. Relationships *[[Ryuga Dogai|'Ryuga Dogai']]: ?. *[[Takeru Jakuzure|'Takeru Jakuzure']]: ?. *[[Burai|'Burai']]: ?. *[[Rian|'Rian']]: ?. Articles & References TBA Notes & Trivia *Aguri Kusugami was portrayed by Tsunenori Aoki. He would later portray Ryoma Sengoku/Kamen Rider Duke in Kamen Rider Gaim. Picture Gallery Kusugami.png|Aguri Kusugami Over-Time-GARO-The-One-Who-Shines-in-the-Darkness-03-720E00271F5 001810 01-490x275.png|Aguri during The One Who Shines in the Darkness Garo_Gai_Transforms.gif|Equipping the Gai Armor Gai I.png|Makai Armor Gai Gai Arrow.png Aguri Gai.png|Aguri (as Gai) poised to strike Aguri in Fang of God.jpg|Aguri in Fang of God Aguri KnK 3.jpg Aguri KnK 2.jpg Aguri KnK 1.jpg Aguri & Gai Shooting GIF.gif Aguri KnK 4.jpg Aguri KnK 6.jpg Aguri KnK 5.jpg Funeral Flame gif.gif Aguri 1.jpg Aguri 2.jpg Aguri 3.jpg Aguri 4.jpg External Links TBA Category:Characters Category:Makai Knight Category:Blue Knight